On Tuesday Oct. 28, the Saint Stephen’s Academic Team secured another win at the Commissioner’s Academic Challenge, at the Parrish Community High School. The A-Team competed against Parrish, Manatee, Braden River, Bayshore, Lakewood Ranch, and Palmetto high schools.
The win brings the team to an impressive record of winning both county competitions, placing them 1st in the county.
Senior member Grace Baxendale was pleased with the results from the meet on Tuesday.
“We did a lot better than our first match,” Baxendale said. “I think it’s going to keep going up from here.”
The Academic Team competes each year in trivia-style events, testing the academic knowledge of the participants. For our school, the program has long been a powerhouse both at the county, regional, and state levels, as The Gauntlet documented last year in “Behind the Scenes of the Academic Team.”
The A-Team is composed of two units: a green team and a gold team.
The gold team is made up of all seniors this year:Pearson Walters, Grace Baxendale, Karli McMahan, and Will Petretta, who took home the win on Tuesday.
The green team consists of junior Andrew Wenzel, sophomore Lark Rippy, and freshmen Molly Harris and Lily Plummer.
Academic Team Advisor and Director of Curriculum and Research Mrs. Christina Pommer noted the difference in structure of the team this year.
“This is the first year in a long time where we have one senior team and one other team,” said Pommer. “It’s neat to see the difference in dynamics between the two teams.”
Pommer added that the addition of new senior Will Petretta has been a reason for their undefeated record, with his knowledge on lesser known topics, such as music theory.
“We have not had somebody know music theory in a long time,” Pommer said. “That [knowledge] was a huge help to the team.”
Team captain Pearson Walters also praised Petretta for his knowledge.
“One question was about Ignatius of Loyola,” said Walters. “His [Will] last school in New York was literally named Loyola.”
As for strategy, Pommer says that the teams have gotten their understanding of the trivia-bowl format down to a tee.
“It’s really helpful in the tougher later rounds to know when to wait and take a little time and confer with your teammates,” Pommer said.
According to Walters, the team dynamic and “camaraderie” him and his teammates share has really helped the squad grow as a unit.
“Every meet we go out to eat beforehand, hang out, play jackbox or board games,” Walters said. “It’s a really good communal atmosphere.”
The next A-Team meet will take place on November 20th at Manatee high school, and the one following that on December 11th at home as Senior Night.
